From local landscapes to international policy: contributions of the biocultural paradigm to global sustainability

Merçon, Juliana; Vetter, Susanne; Tengö, Maria; Cocks, Michelle; Balvanera, Patricia; Rosell, Julieta A.; Ayala-Orozco, Bárbara

doi:10.1017/sus.2019.4

Cited by 69 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…Similarly, Woroniecki (2019) uses Kabeer's (1999) processual theory of empowerment to expand notions of power within climate adaptation research from an individual attribute or structural force towards a networked social-ecological achievement (Box 3). Meanwhile, still others have looked beyond academia to the distinctive metaphysics of Indigenous, agricultural, and other place-based communities, to develop biocultural approaches rooted in culturally relevant categories beyond dualistic 'social ' and 'ecological' entities (Box 4;Caillon et al 2017;Sterling et al 2017;Merçon et al 2019;Haider et al 2019b).…”

Section: Reconstructing Language and Conceptsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A relational turn for sustainability science? Relational thinking, leverage points and transformations

West

Haider

Stålhammar

et al. 2020

Ecosystems and People

200

123

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In sustainability science, revising the paradigms that separate humans from nature is considered a powerful 'leverage point' in pursuit of transformations. The coupled socialecological and human-environment systems perspectives at the heart of sustainability science have, in many ways, enhanced recognition across academic, civil, policy and business spheres that humans and nature are inextricably connected. However, in retaining substantialist assumptions where 'social' and 'ecological' refer to different classes of entity that interact, coupled systems perspectives insist on the inextricability of humans and nature in theory, while requiring researchers to extricate them in practice-thus inadvertently reproducing the separation they seek to repair. Consequently, sustainability researchers are increasingly drawing on scholarship from the 'relational turn' in the humanities and the social sciences to propose a paradigm shift for sustainability science: away from focusing on interactions between entities, towards emphasizing continually unfolding processes and relations. Yet there remains widespread uncertainty about the origins, promises and challenges of using relational approaches. In this paper, we identify four themes in relational thinking-continually unfolding processes; embodied experience; reconstructing language and concepts; and ethics/practices of care-and highlight the ways in which these are being drawn on in sustainability science. We conclude by critically discussing how relational approaches might contribute to (i) a paradigm shift in sustainability science, and (ii) transformations towards sustainability. Relational approaches foster more dynamic, holistic accounts of human-nature connectedness; more situated and diverse knowledges for decision-making; and new domains and methods of intervention that nurture relationships in place and practice.

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Section: Reconstructing Language and Conceptsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A relational turn for sustainability science? Relational thinking, leverage points and transformations

West

Haider

Stålhammar

et al. 2020

Ecosystems and People

200

123

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The key role of biocultural landscapes in promoting ‘safe’ living and sustainability has been described by Merçon et al, .…”

Section: Historical Perspective Of the Term ‘Biocultural’mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Paradigms developed within these discussions include the need to recognise biocultural assets or heritage within eco‐cultural landscapes (e.g. Bridgewater & Walton, ; Merçon et al, ; Rotherham, ) and the importance of recognising ‘intangible cultural heritage’ (e.g. Rotherham, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A critical perspective on the concept of biocultural diversity and its emerging role in nature and heritage conservation

2019

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1. The continuing losses of biodiversity around the world remain problematic for nature conservation. A fundamental issue that has triggered debates in nature conservation is the relationship between human culture, heritage and history, and nature expressed as ecology or biodiversity.2. Traditionally, nature conservation has been pursued separately from aspects of cultural heritage; a situation which seems perplexing when we consider the importance of traditional management in the maintenance of biodiversity in many areas now 'protected' for nature.3. To address these broad issues, fundamental to future landscape sustainability, we need to have clear definitions of concepts and terms.4. This paper considers the historical development of the key concepts that frame biocultural diversity and the paradigms relating to biocultural assets or eco-cultural landscapes. This is pertinent to both researchers and to practitioners or policymakers, and we suggest ways biocultural diversity can improve global conservation efforts.

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“…The IPBES global assessment highlights the role of indigenous and local communities in managing and preserving biodiversity and ecosystem services (IPBES, 2019)⁠ and the IPBES assessment on pollinators and pollination illustrates how biocultural approaches can guide governance and practice in this endeavour (Hill et al., 2019). Precisely by its ability to bridge diverse knowledge systems and policy, biocultural approaches could become powerful tools in the pursuit for sustainability (Merçon et al., 2019; Sterling et al., 2017). However, biocultural approaches are typically referred to in a broad and vague way, and it yet needs to be explored how they are applied and how they actually can unfold their potential for finding much needed sustainability solutions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biocultural approaches to sustainability: A systematic review of the scientific literature

et al. 2020

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Current sustainability challenges demand approaches that acknowledge a plurality of human–nature interactions and worldviews, for which biocultural approaches are considered appropriate and timely. This systematic review analyses the application of biocultural approaches to sustainability in scientific journal articles published between 1990 and 2018 through a mixed methods approach combining qualitative content analysis and quantitative multivariate methods. The study identifies seven distinct biocultural lenses, that is, different ways of understanding and applying biocultural approaches, which to different degrees consider the key aspects of sustainability science—inter‐ and transdisciplinarity, social justice and normativity. The review suggests that biocultural approaches in sustainability science need to move from describing how nature and culture are co‐produced to co‐producing knowledge for sustainability solutions, and in so doing, better account for questions of power, gender and transformations, which has been largely neglected thus far. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

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From local landscapes to international policy: contributions of the biocultural paradigm to global sustainability

Cited by 69 publications

References 69 publications

A relational turn for sustainability science? Relational thinking, leverage points and transformations

A relational turn for sustainability science? Relational thinking, leverage points and transformations

A critical perspective on the concept of biocultural diversity and its emerging role in nature and heritage conservation

Biocultural approaches to sustainability: A systematic review of the scientific literature

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